Former Green Party Leader Ricarda Lang Supports Robert Habeck’s Idea to Tax Capital Gains on Social Insurance Contributions.
In an interview with the “Tagesspiegel”, Lang emphasized the need for a “bureaucratic insurance” system, where all individuals, including politicians, contribute to the social insurance system. She argued that it is unfair that politicians are often exempt from social insurance contributions, while ordinary workers are not. Lang also suggested that the system should consider all forms of income, as there is no reason why someone who works full-time should pay more social insurance contributions than someone who inherited a fortune and lives off rental income or a millionaire with high capital gains.
Lang criticized the alternative of cutting healthcare services or increasing social insurance contributions for normal workers, stating that a well-designed bureaucratic insurance system would actually relieve the working population and also benefit small savers through high exemption thresholds.
Regarding the case of Stefan Gelbhaar, Lang expressed shock and called for a thorough evaluation of the structures that allowed the situation to arise. She also supported the swift action taken by the party leadership, stating that it was right to expel the individual who made false accusations and that the party would have initiated a disciplinary procedure if the accusations had not been retracted. Lang emphasized that spreading false accusations causes significant harm to the accused and also undermines the credibility of women who have genuinely experienced sexual harassment.